The physical demands people put on their eyes are only increasing over time as the rise of using smart devices in businesses continue — leaving many with more time in front of screens at work than ever before. In fact, over 72% of adults in the UK use a computer every day.
As an employer, you need to recognize this and implement provisions to account for this increasing demand and possible eye strain in employees. The good news is, it’s preventable, just like how you’d let your company drivers use fuel management and monitoring system to avoid fraud such as off-hours purchases — proper precautions can help prevent eye strains.
Here are five ways you can help employees take care of their eye health at work.
Conduct Regular Eye Tests
Conducting regular eye tests on all your employees and checking for early signs of common eye conditions like cataracts or glaucoma is an excellent preventive measure against eye disease. It can help an eye specialist or optometrist detect and monitor these conditions that can affect an employee’s overall health, including diabetes or cardiovascular diseases.
Invest in Screen Protectors
Although screen use doesn’t directly damage your eyes, it can still result in tired eyes, headaches, or migraines. That’s why it’s best if you invest in blue-light blocking screen protectors for your office computers to keep harmful Ultraviolet (UV) lights from reaching an employee’s eyes, reducing the strain and discomfort that typically occurs when looking at a screen all day.
Provide Suitable Eye Protection
Wearing appropriate eye protection whenever working is one of the most efficient ways an employee can protect their vision. So, make sure to provide your team with well-fitting and prescription safety glasses to your employees. Ensuring they’re the right fit is crucial as a lack of comfort or fit will likely result in employees removing eyewear when it isn’t safe to do.
Address the Effects of the Sun
UV rays emitted by the sun may cause short or long-term damages to your eyes, ranging from cataracts to macular degeneration. Moreover, excessive exposure to UV rays can cause painful inflammation of the cornea at the front of a person’s eye, significantly increasing their risk of developing severe conditions in the future. If you have any workers who work outside and often get exposed to the sun, providing them with appropriate sunglasses is a great way to ensure their eye health.
Make sure to give them quality sunglasses marked ‘UV 400’ to guarantee their eyes are protected from the sun as poor-quality sunglasses can cause their pupils to dilate — increasing the amount of UV light filtering into the eyes.
Encourage a Healthy Lifestyle
Individuals with bad habits or vices are at a greater risk of developing eye diseases. For instance, cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, the most common cause of vision loss in the UK, are more likely to develop in smokers and alcoholics. Although you can’t control what your employees do outside of work, it’s best to encourage them to look after themselves by holding regular well-being events or telling them yourself.
It’s no secret that the eyes are the windows to employee health. Make an effort and implement a robust workplace eyecare policy. Doing this impacts an employee’s working role positively and supports their overall health and well being, allowing them to improve and grow more — and let you reap the rewards right across the business.
